Choose the Right Synonym for reject

Verb

decline, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn mean to turn away by not accepting, receiving, or considering. decline often implies courteous refusal especially of offers or invitations.
declined his party's nomination refuse suggests more positiveness or ungraciousness and often implies the denial of something asked for.
refused to lend them the money reject implies a peremptory refusal by sending away or discarding.
rejected the manuscript as unpublishable repudiate implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance.
teenagers who repudiate the values of their parents spurn stresses contempt or disdain in rejection or repudiation.
spurned his overtures of friendship

Examples of reject in a Sentence

Verb

My teacher rejected my excuse for being late.
The committee rejected my proposal.
The produce inspector rejected several crates of berries that had begun to grow mold.
The college rejects hundreds of applicants each year.
We rejected 5 of the 10 job applicants right away.

Noun

Stack the promising applications here, and put the rejects over there.
was the school reject as a child and has low self-esteem even today

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reject.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.